Christmas and catching up and a little gift…

By Emma on December 10, 2013

Well hello there! Been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve cleared away the tumbleweeds, dusted off the seat here and thought I’d explain why I haven’t been around lately. But first, there’s something I just have to tell you about because I’m too excited to wait.

A little something for Christmas

We went to Bath today to do some Christmas shopping and I had an idea that wouldn’t let me go. So I went and made it happen.

The first person who reads this and goes to either Mr B’s or Toppings and says “Emma Newman said there’s a Christmas present waiting for me” will get that signed copy as a Christmas gift to either keep for yourself or pass on to someone else – AS LONG AS you also buy any other book from that shop. In Mr B’s Ed knows about this and in Topping and Company Sam knows about this.

Why? Because they are both utterly gorgeous independent bookshops and I want you to buy a book from them. It doesn’t have to be another book in the Split Worlds series, it can be any book you like. Then you get to leave with a signed copy of Between Two Thorns as a gift, and another book bought on the high street, supporting two of the best bookshops I have the pleasure of knowing.

Of course, it may be that when you get there someone has beaten you to the gift from me, but hey, you’ll be in a fabulous bookshop in a beautiful city. And both have signed copies of Any Other Name (Split Worlds 2) and All Is Fair (Split Worlds 3) in stock too.

Both of these shops are very dear to me. I’ve gushed about Mr B’s and its wonderful Book Spa in the past (they make the perfect Christmas present by the way). Topping and Company run amazing events, such as the Neil Gaiman book launch earlier this year, and what’s more: they give you tea to enjoy whilst browsing. In gorgeous teapots. Books. And tea. I mean, what’s not to love? Both have been so supportive of the Split Worlds series and I wanted to thank them by doing this and also thank you, readers local to Bath, who have been buying the books there so enthusiastically.

And if you do get the gift at one of the shops, I would be pleased as punch if you let me know.

Right. Now that’s out of the way, on to news and whatnot. I’ve been absent thanks to a stack of events in October (Bristolcon and World FantasyCon being the main ones) and then moving house in November. Oh. My. God. How stressful? We’re settling in now but the house has needed a lot of love and attention since we moved in which has eaten time.

I have also been obsessively finishing my latest novel and the first draft is done. Such a relief. It’s not another Split Worlds novel (apologies if you were hoping it was). It’s actually about as different as possible. All I will say for now is that it’s a stand-alone sci-fi, first person POV and unlike anything I’ve written before. It was bloody hard to write too.

I’ve been doing a few podcasts lately. One is the SF Squeecast which you can listen to here. Another was an appearance on Dungeon Crawler radio which you can listen to here. And last but certainly not least is an in-depth interview on Skiffy and Fanty about the Split Worlds novels, which you can find here. Incidentally, I consider this to be one of the best interviews about the series to date and there aren’t any spoilers that would upset people who haven’t read the books yet.

Tea and Jeopardy has had to endure a prolonged pause whilst all of these upheavals have been going on, but I’ll be bringing back regular shows after Christmas. Sorry about the delay.

Between Two Thorns has also been picked out as one of NetGalley’s top ten novels of 2013. Which is nice. I’d point you to somewhere on the web about that but it was announced in their email newsletter, so you’ll just have to trust me on that. However, a very kind soul forwarded it to me and NetGalley said this about the book:

This is the kind of book you dream of discovering over the course of a year: the beginning of a series that you know you’ll be desperate for the next volume as soon as you’ve finished the first. This slice of urban fantasy, set among the denizens of Aquae Sulis, Bath’s secret mirror city, is a wonderfully realised and utterly absorbing tale that you won’t be able to resist!

Ooh! One other bit of exciting news! I’m going to be one of the Guest of Honour at next year’s Bristolcon with Jon Courtney Grimwood. I’m tickled pink, I can tell you.

I think that’s all for now. Have you got any exciting news from the last couple of months that I probably missed whilst running round like a lunatic? If so, pop it in the comments below! And in case I don’t get back here before Christmas (and we’re hosting this year so it’s likely!), I wish you and yours and deliciously peaceful Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Leave a comment

Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page.Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.